Perspective!
Writers tend to work on their own, in the dark, which can be at times crazy and lonely making. At these times it is particularly helpful to have caring and supportive people around you who will encourage and reassure and… you know what? I don’t know. I don’t have those people. I have these people.
Me: I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I’M WRITING ABOUT. THERE ARE DUCKLINGS & COOKIES. ONE OF THOSE IS A EUPHEMISM FOR SOMETHING BUT I’M NOT SURE WHAT. help.
Rick: Real ducklings or plastic ones? And what sort of cookies?
Me: NEITHER. I DON’T KNOW. EUPHEMISTIC DUCKLINGS
Andrew:
Me: THAT IS NOT HELPING.
Andrew: Depends on who 😉
Me: *sulk*
Andrew: Aww. Hey guess what?
Me: THIS IS NOT IMPROVING THE SITUATION
Andrew: I am horrid and mean, I don’t know why you put up with me.
Me: I KNOW. WHAT AM I THINKING? WAIT. IF I KNEW THAT I WOULDN’T BE DEALING WITH FREAKING EUPHEMISTIC DUCKS RIGHT NOW
Andrew: I think this is the most yelling I’ve ever seen from you. It’s odd.
Me: I AM A VERY CALM PERSON. EXCEPT FOR NOW. NOW THERE ARE DUCKS
Andrew:
Me: I know that duck. That duck is cool.
Andrew:
Me: Okay. What’s it going to do?
Andrew: DANCE!
Me: That would be cool.
Andrew: And then the duck did the chicken dance and everyone was a little weirded out.
Jen: Just keep paddling…?
Me: Am in space. Could end badly.
Caris: I think I need ducklings. Can I have a copy?
Me: Er… these ducklings are not good ducklings. These ducklings make no sense. You don’t want these ducklings.
Caris: So they aren’t serial killer ducklings or cannibal ducklings or even plain fluffy ducklings or duckies on drugs? #upforanything
Me: They’re dorky euphemistic ducklings. …which now that I come to type it is a pretty good description of my main characters. Read new chapter instead. No ducklings, but a Jabberwock! Also things that go crunch and explode. (Not the same things.)
Rick: The ducklings are metaphorical?
Me: No. The ducklings are euphemisms. The cookies are metaphorical.
Head => Wall, Repeat. Of course, by the time you come out the other side of that kind of thing while you can’t help but feel deranged you also know you’re in good company.
Kandace Mavrick
Paul McLaughlan
platform thing 
Caris
14/02/2013
Duckies!
Ross
14/02/2013
GMail classified this post as spam because it makes no sense*. I think there’s a useful lesson in that – I’m just not sure what it is.
* – that’s not actually what it said, but it was the clear meaning.
Kandace Mavrick
14/02/2013
I think the lesson here is: ducks make no sense!
I should point out however, that many spam filters have issues with ducks. WordPress itself once waylaid a comment on my site because of gratuitous use of the word ‘duck’. I think they’re assuming it’s a placeholder for a word that starts one letter over.